A Magic Far Beyond
by In Starlight and in Shadows
Summary: After the war, Harry, Hermione, and Ron become fed up with the prejudices of the wizarding world and leave Britain. Where can they go to avoid any and all wizards? Lima, Ohio, of course. Pairings undecided.


**A/N: Hi eveyone, it's been a while, I've been very sick but I'm feeling a well enough to finally try and get this little plot bunny out of my head. Be warned this is unedited, if I decide to continue it I'll probably rewrite it into something more detailed and sophisticated.**

**FYI, Fred survived and Percy died. Just because.**

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Harry knew exactly when and where this madness had started. It was the day he, Hermione and Ron watched High School Musical.

A month after the battle of Hogwarts and Harry's final defeat of Voldemort, the three friends had decided to take a day away from their increasingly busy lives and spend some time together. After their victory they had been swept up into a hectic whirlwind of press and politics and a thousand other pressures while they tried to rebuild their lives from the devestation of the war. There were trials and funerals and award ceremonies to attend, family to comfort, friends to mourn, homes to rebuild. Although all three had become quite famous, Harry in particular couldn't go anywhere without a glamour, because anytime he was recognized by the wizarding populace he was swamped with handshakes and insults and pleas for their saviour to fix this or that.

Harry was feeling tired and overwhelmed, and thought that a day relaxing with his best friends was exactly what he needed to recharge. It was Ron's idea to watch a movie, and Hermione who suggested High School Musical, because it was completely unrelated to anything that could possibly remind them of the war. Harry had just shrugged, he didn't particularly care what they watched, although he didn't really expect to like it.

Oddly, he had actually enjoyed music, but the real surprise had been Ron, who had been enraptured. The juvenile film had sparked a previously dormant interest in muggle music in his red-headed friend, and Harry enjoyed seeing Ron so animated, happy in a way he hadn't been since Percy died in the final battle. Ron took up the drums, and Harry decided to learn the guitar. Everyone should have a hobby, right? It turned out he had a real aptitude for it, and soon he and Ron started jamming together. They were soon joined by Fred and George on the bass and the triangle. The twins liked to switch who was playing what randomly in the middle of their songs but Harry didn't mind. Eventually Hermione threw her hands in the air and joined the madness, showcasing previously unknown skills on the electric keyboard. It turned out that she had taken piano lessons before she started at Hogwarts. They jokingly decided to call their group the Deaf Bleaters, and their meetings became the best part of every day for all of them.

Harry recalled Dumbledore once saying that music was a magic far beyond anything they taught at Hogwarts, and he was finally starting to understand why. He bought a computer and an ipod, attended concerts, and learned to express himself through song. He discovered that singing was almost as freeing as flying, although he rarely sang in front of other people.

It probably shouldn't have surprised him when, several months later, in October, Hermione announced that she was going to leave the wizarding world and finish her muggle education. She had retrieved her parents a week after the final battle, but they had yet to forgive her for wiping their memories and sending them to Australia. She had already taken her Newt exams and insisted that Harry and Ron do the same, and amazingly they had passed after days of careful tutoring. Despite the fact that she was a war hero, and a genius, and an all-around wonderful person, Hermione had been finding it very difficult to start a career in the wizarding world. The war may have been won, but blood prejudice remained, and for Hermione every day was a battle against ignorance and disdain. She was tired of fighting.

"Maybe I'll come back one day," she said, "but for now I've had it with inbred fools. I just want to go somewhere new, somewhere I can start again and no one cares who my parents are."

Her words struck a chord with Harry and it took him only two days to decide he wanted to go with her, somewhere where no one knew who he was and he could choose who he wanted to be. That meant somewhere outside of Britain and away from any other wizards.

Ron heard their plan and announced that they weren't going anywhere without him, and maybe they should go to America and enroll in high school? It would be just like High School Musical!

Harry face-palmed, but Hermione looked thoughtful and (after some research), suggested they move to Lima, Ohio, which was a decently sized town but had no wizards living anywhere in a 100km radius. It had absolutely no connection to them, so no one would think to look for Harry there.

The twins decided to come with them and take some chemistry classes at the local university, as well as set up some new branches of Weasleys' Wizarding Weazes in the popular magical districts. Business was booming in the UK, and they claimed it was past time to go international. That they could continue their Deaf Bleater meetings was just a bonus.

Harry and the twins pooled their money and bought a large house in the outskirts of town, as well as a car.

They left Britain quietly and suddenly with the promise to keep in touch with friends and family.

With magically forged passports, visas and transcripts, they were all set to start their high school experience after the Christmas break of their "junior" year. Harry didn't know whether to be excited or terrified.

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**A/N: So... Yes it's been done before, but it's really fun to write, and I have a few original ideas for it. Let me know if you think it's worth continuing, and what pairings you would like.**


End file.
